I would recon to say that this has been the most challenging project of this year. Calculating truss forces was something that took more than a fair amount of time to understand. In this project, my partner and I were tasked with building the two truss designs given, measuring the amount of force it would take to break the trusses, then calculate the entirety of the forces acting on and within the trusses. Furthermore, we were then tasked to repeat the process with a truss of our own design. In conclusion, we also calculated the efficiency of each truss.
Truss 1
This was one of the two trusses given to us from the assignment. The following includes, in order, the sketch of the truss (complete with failure points), a short video of the testing (taken in class), and the calculated FBD (Full Body Diagram) as well as the efficiency. There is also a graph that depicts the breakage of the truss during testing,
Truss 2
The second of the two designs presented in the packet. The following is in the same order as the first (sketch, video, and calculations).
Designed Truss
Brainstorming Ideas
Conclusion Questions
The truss failed where it did because that's where the most pressure was applied. My calculations back this statement.
If given a chance to redesign the truss, I would add more support beams in order to add stability.
If given a chance to redesign the truss, I would add more support beams in order to add stability.